A. The City Attorney, when a person sells or offers for sale or distributes or is about to sell or distribute or has in his possession with intent to sell or distribute or is about to acquire possession with intent to sell or distribute any writing, paper, book, drawing, magazine, pamphlet, print, design, figure, still or motion picture, photograph or negative thereof, photocopy, engraving, sound recording, card, instrument or other article which the City Attorney believes to be obscene, may maintain for and on behalf of the City an action for an injunction against such person in the district court to prevent the sale or further sale or the distribution or further distribution or the acquisition or possession of such articles. Such action shall be in accordance with the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure except as herein provided. A jury trial of the issue of obscenity may be demanded by any party.

B. The person sought to be enjoined shall be entitled to a trial of the issues within a reasonable time after joinder of issue, and a decision shall be rendered by the court within a reasonable time after the conclusion of the trial. If on the trial of the issue the court or jury, if one is demanded, determines from the evidence, which shall be clear and convincing, that the article is obscene, the court shall enter judgment or decree enjoining the sale or further sale or the distribution or the further distribution or the acquisition or possession of such article.

C. Upon application of the plaintiff for a preliminary injunction after suit is commenced and pending the trial of the issues, the court may forthwith restrain the defendant from selling or offering such article for sale until one day after joinder of issue. The court shall not conduct a hearing on such application for a preliminary injunction without first giving the defendant at least three days’ notice of such hearing. No security shall be required to make such preliminary injunction.

D. In the event that a final order or judgment of injunction is entered in favor of the petitioner and against the person sought to be enjoined, such final order shall contain a provision directing the person to surrender to the sheriff of the county any of the matter described in this section, and such sheriff shall be directed to seize and destroy the same.

E. Every person who sells, distributes or acquires possession with intent to sell or distribute any of the matter referred to in this section, after service upon him of a summons and complaint in any action brought by the City Attorney pursuant to this section, is presumed to have a knowledge of the contents thereof from the date of such service.

F. Any person not admitted to do business in this state who publishes and causes any of the matter referred to in subsection A of this section to be sent into the state for ultimate sale at retail in the state thereby consents that it may be used in any proceedings commenced pursuant to this section and thereby appoints the secretary of state to be his true and lawful attorney upon whom may be served all legal processes in any action or proceeding against it growing out of such distribution of matter for sale at retail in this state and such distribution shall be a signification of its agreement that such process shall in any action against it which is so served, be of the same legal force and validity as if served upon him personally. Service of such process shall be made by serving a copy thereof upon the secretary of state or by filing such copy in his office together with payment of a fee of two dollars, and such service shall be sufficient service upon such nonresident; provided, that notice of such service and a copy of the process are within ten days thereafter sent by mail by the plaintiff to the defendant at the address of such defendant as appears on the matter distributed and if no address so appears then at the last known address of the defendant; and that the plaintiff’s affidavit of compliances with the provisions of this subsection are attached to the summons. The Secretary of State shall keep a record of all such processes so served which shall show the day and hour of such service. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to abrogate or pre-empt the operation of Rule 17 (e) of the Utah Rules of Civil Procedure.

G. This section shall apply only to the articles before the court, and it shall not apply to future articles not yet in existence or to other articles already in existence but not before the court.

H. This section shall not be construed in any way to limit the district courts in the exercise of their jurisdiction under any other provision of law. (Prior code § 17-28)